Yolanda Díaz sets a starting point for raising the minimum wage in 2025: at least inflation. “The mandate is that it does not lose purchasing power,” said the second vice president and Minister of Labor this Tuesday. This means that Díaz intends to raise the minimum wage by at least 2.8%, which would take the SMI from the current 1,134 euros per month to 1,166 gross euros per month (in 14 payments).
The Minister of Labor has announced this reference at the starting signal of the debate on how much the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) should rise in 2025. This Tuesday, the new commission of experts that advises the Ministry on this matter began its work. . Furthermore, in December the Ministry plans to summon unions and employers to negotiate this issue in social dialogue, Yolanda Díaz reported.
Currently, the minimum interprofessional salary (SMI) is 15,876 euros gross per year, which amounts to 1,134 euros per month distributed over 14 payments. Since 2018, the Government has raised it by 54%. “The history of the minimum wage is one of success in our country,” said Yolanda Díaz, underlining that the measure has been positive in reducing inequality between high and low salaries, as well as in reducing the wage gap between men and women.
“The mandate of the Commission is the non-loss of purchasing power. From there, let them work,” the head of Labor responded about her Ministry’s assignment to the specialists of the advisory commission.
Labor Sources specify that the inflation reference they use is “the average for the year”, which stands at 2.8% at the moment. This indicator is the one used to increase pensions since the reform approved by the Government in the last legislature, which once again linked the annual increase in benefits to the CPI.
The goal of 60% of the average salary
The second vice president explained that the commission of experts must also reanalyze “what is 60% of the average salary.” This reference has so far been the goal of the Coalition Government to establish the minimum wage, following the recommendation of the European Social Charter.
In the last government agreement, PSOE and Sumar committed that “the SMI will continue to grow throughout the legislature to ensure its purchasing power, guaranteeing in the Workers’ Statute that it will increase at a pace of 60% of the average salary.”
Although it may seem like a clear reference, Yolanda Díaz has recognized that this goal of 60% of the average salary generates many different interpretations. For example, the Government considered this goal met in 2023, but the UGT union did not, which considers that 60% of the average salary is above the current SMI. This depends on what statistics are taken into account and what salary data is used, with discussions about whether the average net or gross salary should be taken, for example.
Yolanda Díaz has demanded that the increase in the minimum wage agreed upon by the Government be once again guided by “social dialogue and science.” In this sense, the vice president has maintained that the Executive has “ended the neoliberal mantra” that increases in the minimum wage generated great job destruction.
Source: www.eldiario.es
